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Anyone remember the Vanguard-Sebring CitiCar? This tiny, angular, two-seat battery electric car built in Florida from 1974-1977 looks as if it could have been the spiritual predecessor of the Smart (highly doubtful), and now Smart is poised to bring an electric version of its familiar Fortwo commuter car to our shores. Series production began in mid-November on the regular production line in Hambach France. This variant, unlike the 100 experimental first-gen e-Smarts, uses a 16.5-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack that replaces the fuel tank below the seats and between the axles, out of harm’s way and as low as possible. The rear-mounted 30 kW motor (40 hp) provides 89 lb-ft of torque. That’s up by a third from the first-gen motor, which drew from a sodium-nickel-chloride battery that required heating to work. Lessons learned in the earlier electric Smart have driven development of this car, 1000 of which will be produced for lease during the second quarter of 2010 in selected European and U.S. cities prior to wider production beginning in 2012.

Floor the throttle from rest and the nose rises like a speedboat’s, heightening the sensation of what is otherwise quite modest acceleration. Zero to 60 is quoted at 6.5 seconds, but that’s 60 KILOMETERS per hour (37 mph). Based on a quick sprint from the Monte Carlo harbor up and around the casino and back, 60 mph probably takes at least double that, but this is a city car so you should seldom need to reach such lofty speeds and it scoots in and out of holes in diamond-crusted Monaco traffic just fine. The two little dash-top eyeball gauges provide state of charge and power information, the latter indicates that when you press through the “kickdown switch” detent at the bottom of the throttle’s travel, the power delivery increases from 20 to 30 kW. Brake pedal travel and feel is EV-peculiar, but not discouragingly so. The nimbleness of the combustion Smart is blunted somewhat by the added pounds the electric gear adds, but at least that weight is all down low.

Recharging takes between 3.5 and 8 hours depending on the available voltage and current. A full charge is reportedly good for 135 km (84 miles). The smart recharging system is claimed as a world’s first, and is able to discern information about the electricity provider, costs during peak and off-peak hours, etc., so it can be programmed to charge with peak efficiency and at the lowest possible cost. It also allows customers to get a bill for the electricity supplied to their Smart from any provider. The onboard electronics allow for pre-conditioning of the cabin (warming or cooling the cockpit while still plugged in, for example).

Electric Drive Smarts can be identified by their green wheels and mirror caps, and the electric-plug E logo. In Europe, the cost of operation is pegged at 2 Euro (roughly $3) for 100 km (62 miles), and powertrain maintenance is practically nil. Adding in tax incentives should further reduce the cost of ownership, which at the moment are still to be determined.

It’s not as fun to drive as the Mini E, it’s nowhere near as practical as the B-Class F-CELL fuel-cell vehicle, but then we could have predicted all that based on the combustion Smart. It’s still cute as an endangered Columbia Glass frog, and just as green.

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